PORTLAND, Maine - Officials from the city of Portland and the Maine Ethics Commission have ruled that Old Port magazine didn't violate election rules by publishing a story that opposed a question on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the story in question was a mid-October piece that advocated against Question 2, the scenic views referendum that subsequently was not passed.
Save the Soul of Portland, a political action committee that supported the referendum, complained that Old Port didn't include a disclaimer for political advertising on the piece.
The magazine's publisher, Maine Media Collective, registered as a PAC shortly before the story came out.
City Clerk Katherine Jones found that Old Port was operating as a media outlet, not a PAC, when the magazine was published.